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. 2021 May 12:7:23337214211013596.
doi: 10.1177/23337214211013596. eCollection 2021 Jan-Dec.

Creating Dementia-Friendly Communities for Social Inclusion: A Scoping Review

Lillian Hung  1 , Allison Hudson  2 , Mario Gregorio  3 , Lynn Jackson  3 , Jim Mann  3 , Neil Horne  3 , Annette Berndt  3 , Christine Wallsworth  3 , Lily Wong  3 , Alison Phinney  1
Affiliations

Creating Dementia-Friendly Communities for Social Inclusion: A Scoping Review

Lillian Hung et al. Gerontol Geriatr Med. .

Abstract

Aims: This scoping review explores key strategies of creating inclusive dementia-friendly communities that support people with dementia and their informal caregiver. Background: Social exclusion is commonly reported by people with dementia. Dementia-friendly community has emerged as an idea with potential to contribute to cultivating social inclusion. Methods: This scoping review follows the Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology and took place between April and September 2020. The review included a three-step search strategy: (1) identifying keywords from CINAHL and AgeLine; (2) conducting a second search using all identified keywords and index terms across selected databases (CINAHL, AgeLine, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Google); and (3) hand-searching the reference lists of all included articles and reports for additional studies. Results: Twenty-nine papers were included in the review. Content analysis identified strategies for creating dementia-friendly communities: (a) active involvement of people with dementia and caregivers (b) inclusive environmental design; (c) public education to reduce stigma and raise awareness; and (d) customized strategies informed by theory. Conclusion: This scoping review provides an overview of current evidence on strategies supporting dementia-friendly communities for social inclusion. Future efforts should apply implementation science theories to inform strategies for education, practice, policy and future research.

Keywords: dementia-friendly community; dementia-inclusive; scoping; social inclusion.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA flow diagram.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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